Attaching bracket for railway car hand brakes



Sept. 27, 1932. R. w. BURNETT ATTACHING BRACKET FOR RAILWAY CAR HAND BRAKES Filed Oct. 4, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 27, 1932. R. w. BURNETT ATTFCHING BRACKET FOR RAILWAY CAR HAND BRAKES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. .4, 1929 Mara my Patented Sept. 27, 1932 PATENT OFFICE RICHARD W. BURNETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS ATTACHIN G BRACKET FOR RAILWAY GAR HAND BRAKES Application filed October 4, 1929. Serial No. 397,414.

This invention relates to improvements in means for mounting hand brake mechanism on railway cars and more particularly to means for mounting such mechanism on railway cars having insulated walls or which from their construction, as in the case of refrigerator cars, do not permit ready access to the inside face of the wall. of the car.

The principal object of the invention is to provide improved attaching means which may be positioned in a permanent location on a car wall and so attached thereto as not to conduct heat into the interior of the car and which will permit the hand brake mechanism to be quickly installed or removed without disturbin or puncturing the insulation of the car wal and without requiring the car to be taken out of service for such installation or repair of the car brake mechanism.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a permanent bracket which may be secured to the end wall of a refrigerator car and have a rigid attachment to the car framing without affecting the construction of the brine tank or the ice bunker of such car and which will permit the brake mechanism to be installed or removed without requiring access to the interior of the car and without shifting or removing lading or the cooling medium.

A further object of the invention is to provide a supporting bracket of the above char-- actor which will permit the brake mechanism to be readily attached to a wall of the car with capacity for adjustment.

The invention is illustrated in t J specific embodiments in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view in elevation of the upper portion of a refrigerator car, showing a hand brake power mechanism applied to the end wall of the car.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 illustrating the manner of attachment of the supporting bracket and the hand brake mechanism to the end wall of the refrigerator car shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front face view of the supporting bracket shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the hand brake and attaching bracket.

Fig. 5 is a detail face view of a modified form of attaching bracket, and

Fig. 6 is anedgeyiew of the attaching bracket shown in Fig. 5.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings in connection with a type of hand brake power mechanism which is adapted to be applied to the end wall of a railway car and in which the tension on the brake connection is resisted by the connection of the power mechanism to the side wall of the car. It is important therefore that hand brakes of the general character shown be provided with a firm attachment to the car wall, for example by means of bolts or other fastening means extending through the car wall in contradistinction of lag screws applied from the outside of the car. Considerable difiiculty isv experienced in installing hand brakes on railway refrigerator car walls since the bolts for supporting the power mechanism, if extended through the wall of the car, serve as a means for conducting heat into the interior of the car. When the handbrake power mechanism is supported on an end wall of a railway refrig erator car, the position of the ice bunker and brine tank in the car make it diflicult to apply the mechanism to the car wall in a manner to insure firm attachment and at the same time be readily accessible for the purpose of removal or repair. In the drawings 10 dessignates an end wall of a railway refrigerator car. The particular wall constructionillustrated consists of an outer sheathing 11 of any suitable material and an inner linlng 12 which inclose the end posts 13 and end -diagonal brace 14. Preferably a plurality of layers of insulating material 15 are secured to the inner face of the outer sheathing 11 between the said post and brace 14 andthe said sheathing. Also a plurality of sheets of insulating material 16 of suitable thickness are arranged between the framing and the lining forming the inner wall of the car. 17

desigates the end plate and 18 the insulated roof construction of the car. In addition to providing the car with insulated walls, the lou usual ice bunker or the brine tank, as the case may be, are located adjacent the end wall of the ear.

The hand brake power mechanism illustrated herein consists preferably of winding mechanism enclosed in a housing 19 adapted to be supported in a vertical plane parallel to the end wall of the car,a flexible connector, preferably a chain 20, connects the winding mechanism with the brake rigging beneath the car. In applying this general type of hand brake power mechanism to the end wall of a railway refrigerator car a supporting bracket 21 is rigidly secured in a fixed location on the end of the car wall. Preferably the attaching bolts 22, 23 extend through the outer sheathing and the car framing so as to provide a strong attachment to withstand the stresses transmitted through the power mechanism to the side wall of the car. The inner ends of the bolts 22, 23 are seated in socket washers 22 imbedded in the framing of the ear, the socket washer providing a large bearing on the wood surface and also presenting greater resistance to turning of the bolt than would be provided by direct contact of the bolt head with the wood, and are preferably sealed against communication with the interior of the car so as not to function as a means for conducting heat into the ear. The scaling is accomplished most advantageously by inserting the bolts 22 and 23 before the inner lining of the car is applied. The attaching bracket illustrated in detail in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, consists preferably of a flat plate 23 formed with bolt openings 24, 25 on opposite vertical edges to receive the threaded end portions of the attaching bolts 22, 23, respectively. Angle bars 2627 are suitably secured to the outer face of the plate 23 so that one flange of each angle, preferably the outwardly projecting angle 28, will be spaced from the end wall of the car so that the attaching bolts 29 and the nuts 30 of the bolts 22, 23 may be readily applied or removed. The bolts 29 extend through flanges on the housing 19 so as to clamp the said housing firmly to the angular flanges 2828 of the attaching bracket.

It will be seen from the above description that the power mechanism may be readily applied or removed fro-m the attaching bracket by merely removing the bolts 29, thereby avoiding disturbing the inner lining or insulating material of the wall construction and furthermore permits the replacement or repair of the power mechanism of the hand brake without involving the shifting of the lading of the car and without withdrawing the car from service for any substantial period of time.

In Figs. 5 and 6 a modified construction of supporting bracket is illustrated. This modified construction consists preferably of a unitary member formed preferably of cast material. The back face of the bracket is formed to bear flatwise against the outer wall of the car. Preferably the back wall 31 is formed with suitable bolt openings 24, 25 for receiving the attaching bolts 22, 23.

The housing 19 of the hand brake power mechanism is clamped to the edge of outwardly projecting walls 32 and reinforcing webs 33. The webs 33 are connected near the center of the bracket with a circular web 34 which provides a firm support for the central portion of the housing 19. The lower end of the bracket is provided with a ledge or shelf 35 upon which the lower edge of the housing 19 is adapted to rest when it is in its applied position. At each corner of the bracket the walls 32 curve inwardly to form a recess or pocket beneath the flanges 36 to which the flange of said housing is clamped. These pockets receive one end of the clamping bolts 29 and permit the bolts to be readily applied or removed. Preferably the bolt openings 37 in the attaching flanges of the bracket are slightly elongated so that the housing can be so positioned on the bracket that the major portion of the weight thereof is supported by the ledge 35 and not by the attaching flanges 36. v

The hand power mechanism including the vertical hand wheel and the arrangement of the trip lever herein shown, and the housing construction are vnot claimed herein apart from the means for mounting the hand power mechanism on the car, said constructions being claimed in my copending applications Serial No. 349,817, filed March 25. 1929 and Serial No. 329,243, filed December 29, 1928.

I claim:

1. Means for attaching hand brake power mechanism to a wall of a railway car comprising a flat plate, angle bars secured to the plate with an out-turned flange of each bar spaced from the plate in a plane parallel thereto, bolts anchored in the car wall and extending through the marginal portions of said plate beneath said out-turned flanges for clamping said plate thereto, and means for rigidly clamping said power mechanism to the out-turned flanges of said angle bars.

2. Means for attaching hand brake power mechanism to the wall of a railway car, comprising a bracket having a back wall, top, bottom and side walls extending outwardly from the said back wall, a circular reinforcing rib disposed near the center of the bracket, reinforcing ribs extending from each of the side walls of the bracket to said circular rib and attaching flanges spaced relative to the edge of the bracket for supporting the said power mechanism, supporting flanges disposed at the corner portions of the bracket and provided with elongated bolt openings for the reception of clamping bolts whereby the said power mechanism can be clamped to said flanges.

4. Means for attachin hand brake power mechanism to the wall of a railway car, comprising a bracket having a plane surface pro- Viding a large bearing area against a car wall and adapted to be clamped rigidly to said wall, out-turned flanges on said plate spaced from the car wall, and means extending through said out-turned flanges for removably securing the said power mechanism to the bracket.

RICHARD W. BURNETT. 

